Cardinals Opening Day roster projection with 3 weeks remaining in spring training

Bullpen (8) - Ryan Helsley, Ryan Fernandez, JoJo Romero, Matthew Liberatore, John King, Kyle Leahy, Gordon Graceffo, and Chris Roycroft

Just missed: Riley O'Brien and Roddery Munoz

There are so many names that could make up the Cardinals' bullpen this year, and I fully envision this group remaining very fluid as the year goes on.

Ryan Helsley returns to lockdown games this year after many thought he would be dealt in the offseason. Helsley has added a cutter to his arsenal in camp, and that could be a huge weapon for him against left-handed hitters. While it's hard to expect Helsley to replicate how good he was last year, he does give the Cardinals supreme confidence at the end of games.

Ryan Fernandez and JoJo Romero both had much better starts to their 2024 campaigns than finishes, but the duo has looked sharp so far in their small sample sizes. I expect both Fernandez and Romero to help fill the void that was left by Andrew Kittredge leaving this offseason, but another young arm has shown flashy stuff so far in camp and could add himself to that back-end group.

Matthew Liberatore has been lights out in his outings thus far, and as he showed in short stints out of the bullpen last year, he is highly effective in short outings for St. Louis. He had been throwing two and three-inning outings thus far in camp as he competes for a starting gig, but my guess is the Cardinals have him shine in the bullpen again for them this year.

With how many starting arms the Cardinals have in their pocket right now, I just don't see Liberatore getting a chance in the rotation. He does provide the Cardinals with a very useful and dynamic arm in their bullpen though, as he's able to come in and shut down an inning, neutralize lefties, or even cover two or three innings out of the bullpen to bridge the gap from the starter to Ryan Helsley.

As I said earlier, I expect this group to change up a lot throughout the year, but my guess right now is that John King is the third lefty in the bullpen and Gordon Graceffo, Kyle Leahy, and Chris Roycroft snag the final three spots. Leahy is another guy who has received looks as a starter in camp, so having Liberatore, Leahy, and Graceffo in the bullpen means the Cardinals can deploy multiple different guys who can cover two or more innings in an outing.